[amigomatt]

I might as well rank them by tier since there are so many that are tied...
1. AKG K240 DF
2. AKG K270 Playback, AKG K270 Studio, AKG K280 Parabolic, AKG K145/S
3. AKG K241, AKG K240 Sextett MP, AKG K141, Pioneer Se-11, Pioneer Se-M10/Master 1S
4. Stax Sr-40, Fostex T10
6. Pioneer Monitor 10R, AKG Q701, Leslie W2
7. Pioneer Se-6
8. Pioneer Se-L201, Pioneer Se-50, Pickering OA-7, JVC HA-M750

My recent purchase of the Cayin C5 amp has really brought my K240 DF back to life!

 

[Solarium]

  I owned almost all headphones you have here except HD598... sell everything and buy HD800 with a nice amp such as Valhalla 2, you'll never look back again

 
How do you think HD800 + Valhalla 2 compare to HD700 + WA7? They cost pretty much the same roughly, one with more money going to the headphones and another more money going to the amp. Both will be run via my STX II DAC, except that the WA7 will be using its own DAC. I'm interested in how the HD800 sound as well, but I've read that unless you have a lot of good gear already, getting the HD800 is pointless. I'm currently enjoying the HD700 very much, and still waiting for the WA7 from the recent massdrop.

 

[takato14]

 

  I owned almost all headphones you have here except HD598... sell everything and buy HD800 with a nice amp such as Valhalla 2, you'll never look back again

 
How do you think HD800 + Valhalla 2 compare to HD700 + WA7? They cost pretty much the same roughly, one with more money going to the headphones and another more money going to the amp. Both will be run via my STX II DAC, except that the WA7 will be using its own DAC. I'm interested in how the HD800 sound as well, but I've read that unless you have a lot of good gear already, getting the HD800 is pointless. I'm currently enjoying the HD700 very much, and still waiting for the WA7 from the recent massdrop.

The HD800 will slaughter the HD700 out of anything. The HD800 isn't as hard to drive as some would have you believe; it's just ridiculously transparent and can rip things apart like no other. It sounded damn fine out of my AudioQuest Dragonfly (v1) when I tried it at a meet. About as good as the enormous Audio-GD SA-31 that was sitting on the table next to the 'phones.

 

[mikey1964]

  The HD800 will slaughter the HD700 out of anything. The HD800 isn't as hard to drive as some would have you believe; it's just ridiculously transparent and can rip things apart like no other. It sounded damn fine out of my AudioQuest Dragonfly (v1) when I tried it at a meet. About as good as the enormous Audio-GD SA-31 that was sitting on the table next to the 'phones.

Agreed, I have both the HD800 and HD700, while both have their strengths and weaknesses, the former has great clarity, transparency and das awesome soundstage! From what I've been told, when it comes to sound differences, headphones > amp > dac. I'm NOT saying the HD700 is bad, far from it, I enjoy it for certain genres of music.....I find myself relaxing more and enjoying the music (rather than listening to just the sound, that is, being analytical) than with my HD800, which I tend to listen to the sound rather than the music. I hope you get what I'm trying to say in my newbish way....

 

[kapanak]

  The HD800 will slaughter the HD700 out of anything. The HD800 isn't as hard to drive as some would have you believe; it's just ridiculously transparent and can rip things apart like no other. It sounded damn fine out of my AudioQuest Dragonfly (v1) when I tried it at a meet. About as good as the enormous Audio-GD SA-31 that was sitting on the table next to the 'phones.

I agree with this. The HD800 sounds pretty darn fine out of just about any source that can give it adequate volume. The true magic lies in the fact that no matter what you upgrade between the music and the HD800, you'll notice it right away, and it will scales up almost indefinitely upwards as you upgrade your source and amps and such. It isn't picky like some would have you believe. Most people say that because to their own tastes, the HD800 doesn't match the particular sound signature they were expecting.

 

[cocolinho]

Hd800 are not difficult to drive as many amp can power them adequately but still you need the right one.
What is nice is that you don't need to invest into a 4-digits amp to make them sound good! Something like valhalla 2 will make a great combo.

 

[BlueRequiem]

My recent purchase of the Cayin C5 amp has really brought my K240 DF back to life!

Isn't the C5 a portable amp? I'd have to check the specs of the C5, but not even my Audio-GD NFB-15 can do a good job of driving mine.  I have to use the headphone out of my Nakamichi to give those cans the juice they need to shine.  If a portable amp can drive those beasts, that very impressive and I have to find one to demo. The DF's are definitely something special!

 

 

[amigomatt]

My recent purchase of the Cayin C5 amp has really brought my K240 DF back to life!

Isn't the C5 a portable amp? I'd have to check the specs of the C5, but not even my Audio-GD NFB-15 can do a good job of driving mine.  I have to use the headphone out of my Nakamichi to give those cans the juice they need to shine.  If a portable amp can drive those beasts, that very impressive and I have to find one to demo. The DF's are definitely something special! :atsmile:  

It is a portable amp but it's extremely powerful. It's considerably more powerful than anything else I've owned. I bought it because none of my other amps could sufficiently drive my recently purchased HE560. Now it drives them beautifully, something even the headphone out of my old Arcam Alpha integrated amp couldn't do. Yes, it's PLENTY power for the K240 DF, believe me. Also, the bass boost is subtle and just fills out that bottom end on the DFs in a way they need. They are getting the headtime they've never had now!

I had a cable made to run my HE560 from the speaker taps of that Arcam amp and that is a step up yet again but for portability and convenience, the C5 leaves me wanting for absolutely nothing!

 

[BlueRequiem]

Wow, that is really impressive, I'll have to check out the C5 sometime by the sounds of it! I've never had problems with bass extension with my DF's, but then again I like AKG's a lot (and I haven't had the pleasure to compare any of them to current planars like your HE560).

 

[Solarium]

Hd800 are not difficult to drive as many amp can power them adequately but still you need the right one.
What is nice is that you don't need to invest into a 4-digits amp to make them sound good! Something like valhalla 2 will make a great combo.

 
Makes me want to reconsider my WA7 purchase. If it turns out that it doesn't improve my sound that much, I might as well spend that money on an upgrade from the 700 to the 800, then use the left over to get a valhalla 2 or a lyr 2 to use with my 800 and 650.

 

[marts30]

   
Makes me want to reconsider my WA7 purchase. If it turns out that it doesn't improve my sound that much, I might as well spend that money on an upgrade from the 700 to the 800, then use the left over to get a valhalla 2 or a lyr 2 to use with my 800 and 650.

 
Even the WA7 didn't quell the HD800 treble enough for me, just not my cup of tea at all.

 

[Oregonian]

Any of you HD-800 guys using vintage amps?  I'd be curious how well they sound.  I know they drive my HE-6 better than you can imagine. 

 

[takato14]

  Any of you HD-800 guys using vintage amps? 

I'm pretty much positive the HD800 would absolutely loathe anything vintage that isn't a ******* Nakamichi Dragon or a Sansui AU-X1111MOS

 

[Mr Rick]

New favorite. This should open me up to some criticism. 
 
 1. Philips Fidelio X2/27
 2. Sennheiser HD 650
 3. Sennheiser HD 598

 

[Minstrel59]

Rick
What did you like about the X2/27?

P.S. I wonder if anyone has done the stats on these results
(almost as mammoth a task as that kind chap who bought and reviewed that huge list of headphones)?